Well what a year!!!

Ive been pretty useless at keeping this up to date so thought it was about time with the Honey monster starting competing and would really like to track her progress how I did with Bells when she first started :D

So to bring us update Bells has had a good year getting plenty of placings in Grade 5 but thankfully not the 1st I'm scared of and once we are into January I can relax as more than one win is needed and since I'm starting to slow her down it's not like to happen phew!!! I still didn't manage to keep my nerve in ANY of the qualifiers which we where quite capable of doing poor Bells to have me as a handler lol We have missed some shows due to the awful weather and been to some muddy soggy ones too :( But we did manage to get enough points for her Silver Warrant which I'm so pleased about I'd love for her to get gold but think it might be too much of an ask for next year but we will give it a go :D
Towards the end of the summer season I made the decision to put Bella into Veterans for unaffiliated winter shows just to give her a break from the nags and twists which I think have been making her get a bit flat towards the end of the summer (you don't realise how much until they have a blast lol) She really enjoyed herself at Nuts with a 1st and E's but we where both grinning on every run which is all that matters, we love grade 5 but sometimes it nice to have an unthinking blast around a course!!!! We then where back at HnH and she took that same speed with her on the large course and we got E'd several times but it didn't matter as I couldn't remember when she'd last had that must enthusiasm at at a KC show :D We then tried out Veterans at Absolute Agility Harrogate and she loved it coming home with 4!!!! 1st places bless her she did a steeplechase course in 16.5 secs lol I doing think retiring her is going to be half as bad as I think as she just loves flying round :D Here her speedstakes run at the weekend

 

Honey started her training when she was 10 months just flat work then at 12 months started with low jumps and contacts. After hit and miss contacts with Bella I decided she would have a 2o2o from the start and shes taken to it well. Ive also started 2x2 weaves with her at 14 months she taken to it like a duck to water we tried a course last week with weaves in and she got them no problems I'm really pleased. Here's a few clips of her weave training :D

And that brings us up to the last weekend Honey's first show eek!!!! I was so scared but Honey was a star we had 3 E's and a clear but as the lovely judges decided to give faults for E's we suprisingly came home with rossie's for 3 classes so proud.  Just so pleased she enjoyed running I only wanted her to wait on the start line all the rest was a massive bonus, I think she found the waiting ring side a bit over whelming but its to be expected at this stage going to make sure I have plenty of yummy treats and tuggy to make her more relaxed. This is her very first run then her last run going clear :D

Glad to see my jump grid work is starting to show in some of the one strides she did on the straights now lots of handling skills to get to grips with but I'm so pleased with the weekend. Can't wait for next year, our next show is HnH for Bella and we are camping?!?!?! And if we survive Honey's next show is Nuts its a clear round only course which I love the idea behind as stops the competitiveness creeping in!!!

Hare N Hounds - 28th January

Big day out today first day of the season but most importantly Honeys first experience of a KC show!!!! I wasn't quite sure how she'd take it, I needn't of worried she took it all in her stride clever girlie she met loads of people and had lots of cuddles :D Sat watching in the big arena with all the noise and hustle and bustle and not a peep bless her shes just great :D
On to the agility then :) First run of the day 5,6,7 graded agility I had a bit of a tricky time in the queue Im still not confident about being in grade 5 and feel a bit out of place atm, this isn't helped when people walk in front of me to get their ticket gah!! Hopefully the more shows I do I will be able to say excuse me we are here lol I also find indoors sooooo hard at times as some people in the queue don't give us a lot of room and I try not to make a big issue of it but at times it can get the better of me and we head into the ring with me all stressed out. So Im going to start staying something no matter who they are!! The run went ok until the right hand weaves, Bells kept coming out at 4 argh!!! 3rd time lucky then we where E'd on a call off. First run of the days never the best ;)
Next was Jo's ABC comb 1-7 lovely course but numpty me pulled Bells off jump 2 so we got a refusal so annoying as we did the rest lovely even managed to get her in the wrong end of the tunnel twice.
We finished the day with 4,5 agility the queue was a bit stressful but this lovely lady behind us saw me struggling and made us a space stopping anyone coming too close behind, there are some lovely people at agility :D The start was perfect for a long lead out so I went for it (tho I did have to put Bells back once but I think it was because people where stood behind her talking and she was a tad unnerved) and it flowed lovely Bells was calm and focus working nicely, there was bit towards the end I thought we'd struggle as walking it was a rear cross with a push out but running Bells had other ideas turning back into the gap I thought was too tight lol I was so please to go clear as they are the runs Im aiming for calm, focused and fast :D I didn't think we'd come anywhere so missed the presentations, norty!!!, so on checking her time was really shocked to see she'd come 3rd only 2 sec behind, she really ain't half bad this girl of mine :D
Sally & Kandy had more giddy happy runs which was great they are improving week on week it should all come together nicely for Easter :D

Dog Vegas - 21st January

First time back at this venue since the start of 2011 I like the massive exercise field but always find the walkway in a tad stressful for Bells but we are coming to the March KC show so wanted to give her a could of shows to get used to the noise and surface she was running on.
First run of the day was jumping, dead easy course as its an unaffiliated show the classes are combined so decided we would practise the waits again as thats our winter mission. Well Bella was obviously far to excited to be there as put her in a stay walk away and she took the first jump!!! so I calmly took her back and set her up again walk away and she flew going clear but too late E'd gah!!! I knew 2nd attempt would be too much speed as a fast course and right had two poles down oppsie :)
Next was agility Paul Sensky had set up a tricky but nice comb 5,6,7 course the start was hard for us jump, a frame then into the wrong end of the tunnel and right hand weaves so I set her up and walked to the end of the A-Frame off she flew and I got her in woop. We kept working it, she flew in the the right hand weaves hurray!!! and went clear not the quickest (47 sec) by far as we had some wide corners but that fact we got round was brilliant. I'd said if we went clear we wouldn't run the 2nd attempt but I enjoyed it the first time so much didn't want to pass up the opportunity to have a go at it again (just to convince myself it wasn't a fluke lol). I think it muct be the work she flew and was defiantly loads fast (32 sec!!) we where outside the placings but I didn't care as it was just great working with her.
We finished the day off with a fast blast around the helter skelter going clear.
Honey was great first proper runs since she hurt her leg and thank goodness she was fine :D She went to watch in the main arena but was terrified by this dog............A PAPAILLION lol bless her of all the dogs there it had to be the smallest. She was really good around the queues even did a bit of heal work with her down the edge when the dogs where running :D
Sally & Kandy where running well too 7th for them in the helter skelter but confidence levels are rising :D a few more of these before the KC summer season starts will do wonders.

Next week its to Hare N Hounds Richmond :D

What a start to 2012!!!!!!

Well not quite the start to the year I was expecting took the dogs out for a lovely walk on New Years day at the beech and Honey pulls up lame after 15 mins :( No sure if it was running too fast or a bump off  Winston so had to carry her the rest of the walk and back to the car. Rested for the rest of the day but still wasn't weight bearing in the morning so took her to the emergency vet to be on the safe side to check for breaks and find out if can give some anti inflammatory. Well what a shock he gave her a very thorough examination (bless her she was so very good) then starts saying he thinks shes got elbow problems and will need an operation otherwise will be crippled at a young age and she will never be able to do agility. I kept asking if he was sure it couldn't just be a pulled muscle, tendon or ligament as shes shown no previous signs but he dismissed it and said highly unlikely. To say I was upset is an understatement I was crying in the car park. Thank god for friends who gave me some reassurance that maybe he was just saying worse case scenario and to take her to my vet the following day, also rang the breeder to see if they knew of anything in their lines but they where not aware they said sometimes their dogs go lame for a day or too if they have gone too fast with twists and turns. So after a very fretful night took her to my vet who was very surprised by what he'd said and that we'd treat as a sprain/strain with anti inflammatory and rest then reassess by the weekend, she knows the emergency vet and said he is very good but I'm not so sure as he weighed Honey at 4.5kg when shes actually 9kg!!!!! So several paranoid days watching her every move keeping her crated (while she cried) she seemed to get a bit better but I was still convinced she was limping a little bit. Bells & I where at Agility Nuts on 8th Jan so left her at home as thought she might be too excited (poor Bells didn't have the best day with very distracted handler)I think the break did me good as when I got home and watch her move she wasn't limping it was just me paranoid at her every move. I stopped the anti inflammatory on Sunday and kept my fingers crossed well she seems to be fine thank goodness. We only went on our first off lead walk yesterday as taking things very slowly (as Honey doesn't do slow lol) I'm just hoping it doesn't happen again. I am going to get her x-rayed at 12 months to see how her joints are for an agility point of view (for piece of mind mostly as still can't help wondering why he said what he did).
The whole situation also wasn't help as a break in at work over Xmas so we had to process payroll payments manually what a nightmare!!!
And had one of the rats in for a lump removal who then insisted on trying rip out her stitches so had to make her a body cast to stop her getting to them. And trapped one of the other rats tail in the door so had blood everywhere. I give up!!!! What was I saying about looking forward to 2012...............................................

Though on a majorly good news side of things Jules & Jette won into grade 3 woop woop that has to be the best start to the year for them both really really well deserved :D